Deanna Kosaraju: The Global Tech Women Community

In this episode, Sarah Tenisi speaks with Deanna Kosaraju, founder of Global Tech Women, an online community with over 16,000 members. The network offers resources, inspiring role models, mentoring, and community-building in every corner of the world. Deanna herself has a long history of working in technology and developing communities for women across the globe.What You’ll Learn in This Episode:●      [01:20] Deanna’s thoughts on the historic inauguration of VP Kamala Harris●      [02:22] Why all of the 156,000 jobs lost in December belonged to women●      [05:10] How and why Deanna founded the Global Tech Women community●      [10:09] A mistake Deanna made along the way that turned into a great story●      [11:37] The values of Deanna’s global community●      [17:10] Specific issues Deanna wanted to solve in the beginning●      [21:58] Growing the community and keeping every member engaged●      [23:52] Why women join the community●      [25:15] Great developments happening in the community around the globe●      [27:53] What’s next for Global Tech Women?●      [29:18] How the 2021 Women Transforming Technology conference began●      [34:36] Staying relevant and on the cutting edge●      [37:24] The opportunities that are still out there in the tech world●      [41:19] How women can help each other with their careers in the tech worldKey quotes:●      “We have to really look at how we can help women given where we’re at. We’re having a conference in May where we’re talking about resilience. I’m hoping that we’re going to come up with great ideas on how we can structure Global Tech Women and all women in tech communities to be more supportive and be more pointed towards action to help women wherever they are, whatever they’re going through, and to come up with a plan for themselves because they deserve it.”●      “You need to keep your skills and certifications fresh, otherwise you’re not going to find yourself as employable as you want to be.”●      “We have an opportunity to be mentors and role models to everyone. We all have experiences. We all have ideas. Put yourself out there, connect with other people, and talk about your story and what you’ve learned.”